Fire Emblem: Sacred Radiance
by Zolias
Summary: A peaceful land, a continent united. For sixteen years, everyone lived peacefully... except the usual brigand invasions. However, when the ruins of an ancient kingdom are found, ghosts of the past return to haunt the future. With the world once again facing the threat of destruction, who will bear arms to bring peace? Only time will tell... Rated T for safety.
1. Prologue: The Last Day of Zelgius

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM; IS AND NINTENDO HAVE THAT HONOR. OC'S ARE THE ONLY THINGS I DO OWN. THIS DISCLAIMER IS EFFECTIVE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FANFIC!**_

**Prologue: The Last Day of Zelgius**

It was the day before the army chosen to stand against the Goddess Ashera would arrive. Lord Zelgius of Cador, the man also known as the Black Knight of Daein, was silently sitting at home, lost within his thoughts, which were completely filled with only two people: Gawain, his mentor and sword instructor from Daein, as well as the one he had brutally murdered almost three years prior, and Ike, Gawain's son and leader of a band of mercenaries founded by the departed warrior. _Hero is the more accurate word,_ Zelgius thought to himself, and sighed. Tomorrow, he would be forced into combat against not only Ike, whom had a vendetta against him for killing his father, but also Micaiah, the Maiden of Dawn and also one he swore fealty to in the guise of the Black Knight. _If there were any way I could fight Ike alone, I would take it!_

It was at least 6 months after he had killed Gawain, that he finally fought Ike at Castle Nados. At that time, he was so astonished and overjoyed to find that Gawain had severed the tendons in his arm in order to never wield a sword again, that he decided not to kill the young warrior and instead, throw the fight. This way, he would have a lot more time to hone his swordsmanship to rival that of his father's. It would be at that time, that he would fight the boy again. However, due to sheer coincidence, he once again met Ike earlier than expected, upon the banks of the Ribahn River. They exchanged blows, and he knew Ike was still not up to the ability of his father, but he was almost there; he just needed a bit more time to grow. _By now, he should be about equal to his father, if not better. The time has come to fight him seriously!_ Nodding to himself, as well as coming back to reality, he smiled. Walking into his bedroom to prepare for the night, he stopped in another room first. It was decorated like a newborn's room, and sighed. On the wooden rocking chair inside was a statue of a very beautiful woman. A tear had suddenly formed in his eye, as this was not just a statue: it was his wife, who was already one month pregnant before Ashera's Judgment was unleashed upon the world. "Don't worry, Adella, for I am sure that you'll be fine." Placing an envelope in her hand, he walked back to his room and went to sleep.

The day passed, and with Ashera defeated, everyone who had been turned to stone was returned to normal. Adella, the young woman, awoke to find the letter just where Zelgius left it. Slipping it into her dress for the moment, she set out around the house to find her husband. It was two hours later, that, after no luck in finding him, she got the envelope back out, opened it, and read the contents:

_My Dearest Adella,_

_ If you are reading this, then I am most likely no longer alive. For this, I beg your forgiveness. However, do not grieve for me, and live your life to the absolute fullest in my stead, as well as for our child. I may not be there to guide him as a father, but I can at least do one thing for him, which is to leave him my treasured heirloom, the holy blade Alondite. Only give it to him when he turns fifteen, for the sword will be able to judge his worthiness then. Always remember that I will forever love you._

_ Your Love,_

_ Zelgius _

The woman read it over again, tears streaming down her face as she did so. Still, she would do as he had asked, and live for him and their child, which he jumped to the conclusion of being a boy. For eight months she continued on, trying her best, but as fate would have it, after giving birth to a healthy baby boy, her weakened state, along with her grief for the death of her husband, became too much for her to bear, and she passed away, but not before making sure the child had a name: Zolias.

The child was raised by her sister and her husband, and then, sixteen years later...

_Author's Notes: Welcome to my first ever fanfic. Basically starting off with a self-insert type, I hope to make this a pretty interesting story about our hero, me! XD _

_Of course, I plan on posting the rest of this when I finish, so I can keep on doing weekly updates and stuff, but knowing my own track history, I'd rather not just post my story every chapter, stop halfway due to lack of interest/time/etc., and disappoint any people. The reason I'm posting this, however, is because I want to give myself motivation; this chapter alone went through a single revision, turning the MC from an OP powerhouse to a more believable starting unit._

_If I _do_ manage to finish this, expect to see a few select plot twists; can't say they'll be original, as I haven't read every single fanfic on the site (and doubt I ever will), but I can say that they _will_ be some key points in the story. Yes, gratifying, blatant marketing... I think._

_Thank you all who decided to give this a glance, and I hope you enjoy the simple prologue and first chapter (to give a simple description of the layout, and await the finished story._


	2. Chapter 1: The Young Lord of Cador

**Chapter 1: The Young Lord of Cador**

"Are you guys ever going to stop complaining? It's training time, not 'whine your ass off' time, dammit!" Typical day, starting off with a simple battalion practice against another squad. Foot soldiers, mostly, but even after the horrendous battle which I call 'typical, daily crap I have to deal with', we STILL managed to be victorious. Simply put, it was foot soldiers vs. foot soldiers, and the Captains played the role of tactician. Of course, the other squad were the ones complaining, but I have to admit, I'd be annoyed too if I lost when I was a hairsbreadth away from victory. However, I had no doubt that we'd win, due to the fact that a randomly selected ranked officer was placed as the 'battalion leader', or in other words, the main target. When one team defeats the leader, they win. Our battalion, Squad 385, was set up against Squad 213. Their officer to be picked was their 3rd Lieutenant, Chasmal, who happens to be a fairly powerful Lance Knight; I say powerful loosely, as his defensive capabilities are his only redeeming quality. Our team leader was Norman, our strongest axe user, and ironically, labeled as a Barbarian in terms of the Caste System, but in reality, he's surprisingly one of the most intellectual people I know. I still think I should give a little rundown of my group:

First off, there's Norman, who I've already said a little bit about. He's calm and collected most of the time, but he fights fiercely with his large axe. His swings are wild, but so far hasn't cut his long red hair yet, which he says is the reason he keeps it in a ponytail. He easily exudes the Big-Brother characteristic, especially with his easygoing face and his warm, chocolate-colored eyes. Despite this, I have yet to see anyone surpass his strength; even the higher ups admit that in sheer force, he's stronger than most of the Holy Knights in general. I actually brought him with us from when he was forced to fight with a group of bandits along a border village. That bandit group exists no more, after we were through with them. He's currently my Lieutenant, and a damn good one at that; while Norman usually gives his full attention to anyone who has a complaint needing to be assessed, he does get easily annoyed when the complaint is extremely trivial. Everyone knows when that is, due to his face being forced into a smile that can send shivers through the spines of even the most battle-hardened Dragon Laguz. That's why he's also head of the disciplinary team, with Kyle serving as his aide.

Speaking of Kyle, he's a loudmouthed myrmidon, and he's also one of the group's hotheads. He and Norman were originally from the same bandit camp, and oddly enough, was the leader of it. I was told to kill him by my superiors, but decided to spared his life when an attempted usurper, almost managed to kill me, which he cut down before they had the chance. He pledged his loyalty to me afterwards and broke up the group. His shaggy black hair and rough, steel-gray eyes could even make a baby shut up, but despite his faults, he's one of the most loyal friends anyone could ask for. He's my 2nd Lieutenant, and as aide of the disciplinary team along with his nature, he'll tell you exactly when you've crossed the line, what punishment is going to happen, and then perform said punishment himself. Needless to say, nobody but our only other resident firecracker even _dares_ to put even a single _toe_ out of line.

The other hothead, while I'm on the subject, would happen to be Ameli, our Lance Knight. Her gentle hazel eyes and long auburn hair, which she keeps in a ponytail, make her seem like a gentle kitten, which is true when she's in a good mood. However, once someone pushes her too far (usually Kyle, admittedly), she roars like a lioness. Her loyalty is just as fierce as Kyle's, and somehow, they end up arguing sometimes over who's the most loyal. Makes me think of a certain silver-haired man and his two subordinates somewhere...

Then there's Lily, and she's our assigned cleric from the church. She also happens to be one of Leanne's daughters, so she's technically a Laguz, but unlike most laguz, she put effort into learning one of the beorc's tools; the staff. Her galdrs make everything easier for us, and when she's not singing to soothe our weariness, she wields her Heal staff to mend our injuries, though according to some of the soldiers, simply being around her beauty is more effective than her staves. Believable enough it seems, with her ocean blue eyes, long golden hair, and snow white wings, though I simply explained that Herons naturally exude a healing aura; I think they didn't like technicalities, but whatever.

Then we have Richter, our Sword Knight. He's a large, brawny man with black hair and sharp-looking brown eyes. The only thing sharper than his eyes would be his blade. With his natural bulk supported by his steel-plated armor, he is a force to be reckoned with in the field of battle.

Can't forget Flora, our secondary magic support. Her specialty in magic is Fire and Wind, though she prefers her Wind tome. Her long, orchid-colored hair with her gentle blue eyes, as well as her fair complexion tends to give her a very gentle, meek look. Unlike Ameli, however, this is completely true; she's very timid, especially around a lot of men. For some reason, however, she's completely fine around me, but then again, she's pretty much fine around our entire platoon, excluding the recruits that tend to hit on her time and time again.

Finally, we have Zolias... in other words, me. Leader of Squad 385, rank of Captain in the Begnion Holy Knights, and heir to the title of Lord of Cador. I have shoulder-length dark brown hair that I like to keep tied back, and brown eyes. Like my father, I am also one of the Branded, though the scholars say they have never seen a brand like mine before. I never knew either of my parents, though; according to the Empress herself, my father died in the previous war and my mother died after giving birth to me. My father, Zelgius, was a General of Begnion's Holy Knights, a powerful warrior skilled in the way of the sword, and also traitor to both Begnion and Daein, our northern neighboring country. He went by the simple name 'Black Knight' never showing his face or any features to anyone there to keep his identity secret, especially his identity as one of the Branded. His will was found in his home, naming his child heir to his title and land, as well as rightful heir to his treasured sword, Alondite. However, try as I might, I have found (rather painfully, I might add) that I have no talent whatsoever with swords. Neither do I have any knowledge or talent with lances, axes, or bows. I _have_ learned where my skill resides: magic. Specifically Dark Magic, though I also have some proficiency with Thunder Magic.

Then we have all the soldiers, which I won't list because, well... they couldn't even fight their way out of a wet paper bag armed with killing edges; hell, I'd be surprised if they're skilled enough to even USE a killing edge! Their most redeeming quality is that they're fairly young, around fifteen or so, and have a lot of room to improve, and by a lot of room, I mean the distance between the south-western tip of Gallia to the very home of the Wolf Tribe Laguz (which lies across the desert east of Daein) ran back and forth three times. At least they're trying and haven't left yet, so I can at least give them that much credit.

It was still before noon, and my men and I were starting towards the mess hall, when a messenger called me to a meeting with Her Eminence, Empress Sanaki. Nodding to the young man, I then turned to my men and told them "I will not be joining you today; I have been summoned by the Apostle. Try not to get into any fights while I'm gone, okay?" Turning to Kyle and Norman, I whispered, "If they do get into a fight, I give permission to punish them in any way you two deem necessary." The smiles that crept onto their faces were ones that easily made the troops that looked back shudder in fear. I could've sworn one of them even pissed himself; at least it was raining and everyone was soaked from the earlier training, so he probably could get away with it. Taking my leave, I left for the throne room.

Zolias Heir Lv 2

HP: 22 Str: 3 Mag: 8 Skl: 7 Spd: 8 Def: 5 Res: 6 Luck: 10

Dark: D Thunder: D

_Weapons_

Flux (E) - 40/40 [Type: Dark Atk: 5 Hit: 90 Crit: 0]

Thunder - 40/40 [Type: Thunder Atk: 3 Hit: 80 Crit: 5]

Alondite

_Inventory_

Concoction 3/3

Skills: Paragon, Blossom

_Author's Notes: I hope you all liked the first chapter, and will now wait to post more until I finish. I apologize if you find this teasing, but there is a plus side: now you can see the layout; specifically the 'stat screen' at the end. I will only do one character per chapter, most likely Zolias or any other 'important' character. If you see a different person's stat screen listed, they're 'important'._

_And... yay for slightly pushing on the Fourth Wall?_

_Three things I should mention, though:_

_Anyone notice the missing weight/con? Intentional. I'll basically be using the FE: Awakening style of speed instead of the weird weight/con setup. Not like it matters, but in case anyone wants to make a fan game of it..._

_Then there's the skills department. I will slightly mix Awakening and RD skill system: All RD/some Awakening skills are available (certain ones will have descriptions slightly changed of course), some will be new, and a few of them will be Enemy Only. Also, any given character can have only 7 skills available to them, including class/master skills._

_Finally, in case anyone is confused, I'm going to list mounted units as 'Cavaliers' with Sword and Lance levels that promote into Paladins, which gain the ability to use Axes. Knights will be separated into two types: Sword Knights and Lance Knights: Lance and Sword Knights promote into two different classes: Lance Generals that use Lances and Axes and Sword Generals that use Swords and Lances. _

_Also, there WILL be 2 promotions per class, even the main character's. Great Knights are Paladin Promotions that gain the use of bows to become a well-rounded class. Lance and Sword Generals promote into Marshals, which gain the use of the last weapon their General class couldn't use. Also, crossbows will retain their special traits, but be considered as bows, so Warriors/Reavers will have bow levels. MC's 1st promotion is obvious. I _could _tell you the 2nd promotion, but I won't; just have to wait and see. Oh yeah, Berserkers will make a comeback. I love me some Berserkers._

_One last thing: for a better idea of what Zolias looks like, including clothes... he looks very similar to Ryner Lute from Legend of the Legendary Heroes, just without the Alpha Stigma._


End file.
